Some Pakistani editorial writers are introspecting after the Mumbai terror strikes. The News on November 28, observes: “Fingers are already being pointed towards Pakistan. We are accused of exporting terror around the world. This reality is a curse for Pakistan. Whereas we may only be a convenient scapegoat, it is not mere accident that has cast us in this damning role. Already, we are a nation regarded as the most dangerous in the world by some assessors. Foreign missions and agencies have deemed Islamabad too unsafe to station the spouses and children of staff; businessmen hesitate to come to our shores. Sportsmen now rarely visit.” Daily Times, in its editorial, touched upon the possible theory behind the attacks. “Even as India was facing the unfolding saga of Hindu terrorism whose tentacles seem to go into its armed forces, the country has been struck by another terrorist attack in Mumbai. It is significant that the terrorists have targeted British and American visitors too. Ongoing investigations into some terrorist attacks that were alternately blamed on Indian Muslims and Pakistan have shown that they were actually carried out by a Hindu terrorist network. There is no doubt that Pakistan is under attack from the same kind of ‘mujahideen’. The need is to work out cooperative strategies because all states are under threat from the scourge of terrorism. Unfortunately this is made nearly impossible by domestic political oppositions and their desire for point scoring. In India, the Mumbai attacks will give the right wing parties the stick to beat the government with.” Issuing a caveat, The Post cautions that: “The Mumbai attacks will impose fresh strains on the fraught diplomatic relations between India and Pakistan. At this critical moment, India will have to exercise maximum caution to stop the situation from spinning out of control.”

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